Football: Terra Nova gets ready for St. Ignatius

Terra Nova coach Bill Gray subscribes to the hard-knocks school of scheduling, the notion that playing tough teams at the start of the season (even if those games result in losses) will pay off more down the road than easy wins over weaker opposition.

Last year the Tigers opened with a pair of WCAL opponents, Sacred Heart Cathedral and St. Ignatius, lost both games, but ended up as PAL Bay Division champions and as one of eight teams in the CCS Open Division playoffs.

This year Bishop O’Dowd replaced Sacred Heart Cathedral as the opponent in Terra Nova’s opener. O’Dowd was an NCS playoff team a year ago, so another tough game was expected. But Terra Nova had a surprisingly easy time of it, blowing out the Dragons 45-7 in Oakland. Terra Nova led 38-0 at halftime and played its second string almost the entire second half

“It was a good day for public school football,” Gray said.

Now the Tigers will see what they can do for a follow-up with a game at defending Open Division champion St. Ignatius on Saturday at 1 p.m. SI beat Terra Nova last year 46-26.

“They’re a very powerful football team,” Gray said. “They make you obsessed with defending the run, and then they hit you with a play-action pass.”

The Wildcats are coming off a 31-20 loss to Marin Catholic.

“What you’ve got to do is get them in second-and-long, third-and-long, and make them punt the ball,” Gray said. “To do that you’ve got to win first down.”

Terra Nova has won four consecutive PAL Bay titles in large measure due to a prolific spread offense. Junior Anthony Gordon completed 18 of 30 passes for 362 yards and three touchdowns against O’Dowd in his first varsity start.

“We’ve got to use our tempo to wear them out,” Gray said. “If our defense has to be on the field for a lot of plays we’ll be in trouble.”